my wife did not know about it, and was the revelation, and the surprise. >> herman cain saying his wife didn't know about his friendship with alleged mistress ginger white. the gop candidate is heading home right now to make a key decision about the future of his campaign. fair warning. just released tapes showing extreme weather was a worry minutes before a deadly stage collapse at the indiana state fair. and seizing a fortune. a look inside the warehouse where the government keeps the stuff they seize from the world's biggest con men on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com and good morning, everyone. it's friday, december 2nd. ali and carol are both off today. i'm christine romans along with alina cho on this "american morning." >> so glad you got the memo. >> i know. we're both feeling a lot like

christmas this morning. up first, the countdown is on for herman cain. he's heading back home to atlanta this morning in the decision to whether continue his campaign could be in his wife's hands. cain says we will know by monday at the latest whether he's in or out of the race, and yesterday for the very first time, cain admitted that getting out is an option. he okay knowledged he did give money to the woman he said she had a 13 jeer-year affair with . his wife only found out about ginger white when the rest of us did. >> that is correct, and she was hurt that she didn't know about this friend that i was helping financially. she was aware of many of the other friends that i have helped. >> ginger white spoke to lawrence o'donnell on msnbc last night and again insistented it was a lot more than just a friendship. and talked about why they texted each other dozens of times over the past two months. >> at the end of the day i nope

that know that i am telling the truth. i would never come out with something like this if it wasn't true. honestly, i didn't want to come out with this, and i know that travel was involved and sex was involved. i would never lie about that. >> our sexual relationship had faded out a bit, which i was -- very fine with, and so the last 2 1/2 years, yes. we would text back and forth. he would help me monthly. most times he would be traveling, and when there were several texts, it was just he and i trying to get our schedules together to where we could meet, and he would, you they, help me out with -- with money for bills and various things. >> oh, boy. here to talk about all the latest developments is senior political editor mark preston.

mark, good morning to you. so what are they saying in washington? is cain in or out of the race? >> reporter: i think they're saying, oh, boy. my god what a story this is, alina. look, bottom line for right now, herman cain's presidential candidacy is all but done. as he said last night on fox, he'll make the final decision on monday or at least let us know by monday, but the fact of the matter is, he's no longer a viable candidate. the question remains, rwas he ever a viable candidate? he certainly soared to the top of the polls and did very well for a period of time but never had any national infrastructure, alina. as he decides what to do motor on with the campaign or abandon it, three things he's going to look at. how the emotional toll is taking on his family. has supporters are saying. the fact is, can you raise enough money to keep the campaign going on? >> that's exactly right.

when it comes right done to it, it's going to be that support and especially the money. having said that, our own polling shows that newt gingrich does stand to gain if herman cain quits. right? >> reporter: that's absolutely right. the big winner in all this and what has been a terrible family tragedy, the fact newt gingrich has shot through the polls. an important primary state of florida. a new poll that has just come out in the last 24 hours shows that newt gingrich has gone from basically zero to 100%. look at that. he has climbed 39 points in just a month. we've seen herman cain right the there drop 24 points. florida holds its primary january 31st. we've spent a lot of time talking about three very important contests held in january, iowa, new hampshire and south carolina but a lot of us looking to florida. >> do you think newt gingrich really has iing power at this

point? it's so early. we're still several weeks from the iowa caucuses. >> reporter: you're absolutely right. has he really peaked too early at this point and can his presidential campaign sustain him and can he continue to move on? i'm someone who believes, yes, he can, but he needs to make changes. the unconventional campaign got him to where he's at, but the fact is he needs to put in a large national infrastructure in order to run a solid campaign. right now he does not have that in place. >> cnn's mark preston waking up early for us. thank you. congress has just 30 days this morning to pass the pay roll tax holiday extension or you could see your paycheck cut by at much as $1,000 next year. last night the senate blocked the republican and democrat plan from moving forward. the democrats' plan paid for this plan for working americans by taxing millionaires. the republican plan froze the

federal pay for workers and then cut millionaires off from some benefits like unemployment insurance. apparently there are 2,600 millionaires getting this check. the president released a statement last night saying in part, the international republicans voted to raise taxes on hard working americans because they refused to ask a few 00,000 millionaires and billionaires to pay they're fair share. wall street protesters desperately trying to stand their ground in two cities. police moved in and barricaded screaming protesters as a noon deadline to leave the camp came and went. the city offered to move them to a new site, but many protesters refused. in oklahoma city, occupiers filed a suit to stay in their park. they asked a federal judge to stop the city from imposing an overnight curfew. protesters have been camping out in kerr park in oklahoma city nearly two months but were

recently denied a new permit after there was a drunken brawl that trashed the camp. the city gave them until 11:00 p.m. last night to clear out. it's history in the making this morning in egypt. expecting results from the first round of elections. egyptians voted monday and tuesday for the very first time since president hosni mubarak was forced out of power in february. our jim clancy is live in cairo, egypt, this morning. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning to you. well, the protesters here in tahrir square are awaiting results us a well. today is scheduled to be a million-man march. they're about 990,000 people short. nats part of the problem. protests in the square are losing the luft they have had the past ten months. the reason may be the ongoing election, the process itself pap new cabinet is being announced that will include some young people and some of the people,

perhaps, right from this square. at the same time there is a sense here that the military is needed. what people saw the first election results, more than one said if the islamists are winning we're depending on the military to protect the rights ever the minorities, meaning the secularists and christians that make up about 10% of the population, christine. so there's a reliance, if they will admit it, on the military. people are wondering here what is next. some of these protesters, i'm told, are going to leave after this march. a march that is calling for a civilian transitional government, and at the same time, commemorating those who have died or been wounded in this square over the past ten months. christine? >> jim, so interesting that that early wariness and mistrust of the military might be morphing into a reliance on them as the democratic process unfolds. >> reporter: you're exactly right. it's normal. look, everybody expected the

muslim brotherhood to dominate in the elections, and that apparently they have done. what they did not expect is that the issalfa parties, linked to terror, called for sharia law, a reality like you see in iran. they have asked for a change. some of them even speaking out. they don't want any entertainment, no music. these are the kinds of things that are really concerning the secularists right now in egypt. what will be the outcome, some people say calm down. the muslim brotherhood, really in the driver's seat here. after all, they are becoming politicians for the first time. they will be moderate. they will not be doing things that will hurt the tourism industry. things that will alienate society away from their party. they are going for more support, not less. egyptians today just aren't sure. christine? >> all right. jim clancy in egypt.

thanks, jim. for nearly nine years, camp victly that been the heartbeat of the u.s. military operation in iraq and now the iraqis are officially in control. the formal hand over took place overnight in baghdad. it follows yesterday's ceremony where vice president biden praised coalition and iraqi soldiers for their service. if the schedule holds that number will be zero three weeks from now. still to come, death and destruction, then chaos and confusion. you're going to hear the gripping just released audiotapes from emergency responders at that scene. the scene of last august's tragic stage collapse at the indiana state fair. the senate is passing tough, new sanctions against iran. why the white house says it could backfire and end up costing you money. and, yeah. rolexs, all part of a billion dollar money-making effort by the federal government to see that justice is served. you're watching "american morning." i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer.

if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists.

ttd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the typical financial consultation ttd# 1-800-345-2550 when companies try to sell you something off their menu ttd# 1-800-345-2550 instead of trying to understand what you really need. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we provide ttd# 1-800-345-2550 a full range of financial products, ttd# 1-800-345-2550 even if they're not ours. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 and we listen before making our recommendations, ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so we can offer practical ideas that make sense for you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck, and see how we can help you, not sell you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550

welcome back to "american morning." hundreds of thousands of people from the rockies to the pacific coast are still without power this morning after powerful wind storms. southern california was the hardest hit with the worst santa ana winds in a decade. hurricane force winds as strong as 140 miles an hour toppled trees and brought do you power lines. the winds are expected to kick up again today. they've declared a state of emergency. exactly what they don't need. with more on that, bobby, good morning, rob marciano in the weather center. >> good morning. what makes this extraordinary, how widespread it was. you touched on it, across several states from utah which got some of the highest winds. centerville, utah, 102 mile winds yesterday. 69 mile-an-hour winds and along i-15 there is issues as far as crosswinds and some of the

high-profile vehicles and southern california got it yesterday, of course. it's relatively calm right now, but throughout the next few hours we'll probably see the winds pick up again and strengthen tonight and into tomorrow morning briefly before this pattern breaks down sunday and monday. winds gusting 40 to 60 miles an hour. nothing like yesterday, but with weakened trees and tree limbs, could be more to take down more of that stuff. freezing rain. new mexico, texas panhandle, the other side of the system that tracks across the southern plains. meets up with another front. brings rain from dallas through the mid-mississippi valley and also into chicago, today gets up to about 40 degrees. 55, high temperature in new york city. everyone east of the mississippi for the most part will be quiet today. 64 degrees. rebounding nicely in atlanta and almost up to 70 in new orleans and houston. >> wow. >> guys, back up to you. >> that's where i was yesterday.

yeah. nice weather there as well. thank you for all of it, bobby. rob marciano. want to be proper. >> that's right. we're very proper here. >> thanks, rob. when you think of the u.s. justice department, billion dollar money maker probably doesn't come to mind. crime doesn't pay, but purns out the ill-gotten gains of white collar criminals are paying off big time for the feds. deb feyerick goes inside for this story. >> reporter: name any luxury item, yachts, mansions, art collections, race car, diamonds, even ancient artifacts. chances are the u.s. government likely owns it. that's right. your government. it's all legal. in fact, it's justice. >> whether they're nar kacotics traffickers or standard security fraudsters, in every single type of case we bring we try to make sure we are looking at ways to take the profit of the crime and

return money to the victims. >> reporter: it's called asset for fitch ch forfeiture. almost half of this money, $800 million, came from cases prosecuted in new york's southern district run by u.s. attorney fra ratherrara. >> we managed to bring in through the con set of of forfeiture, $800 million in funds or property which is about 16 times what our annual operating budget is, which i believe is better than most hedge funds these days. >> reporter: prosecutions of white collar crime, epic ponzi schemes and financial fraud are at an all-time high. >> criminals you're going after, bernie madoffs, mark dreiers, are you surprised what people own. do you think, oh, my god. >> you know, not much surprises us these days. oftentimes the motivation for

engaging in the criminal conduct is greed. the fact these are ostentatious is the reflection of what the motivation was for engaging in those crimes in the first place. >> reporter: this is a small sample of what the government has. want a bentley? a new one costs a quarter million. like everything here, these two are auctioned off to the highest bidder. ponzi schemer bernie madoff's beach home sold for almost $9 million. julie given as a gift to actress anne hathaway, sold more more than $63,000. >> reporter: do you ever think about the cases you're going to do based on the amount of money you're likely to bring in? >> no. we pursue cases for one reason and one reason only. to hold people accountable for their crimes. >> reporter: this will be distributed to law enforcement programs. next year is expected to be equally at good financially. it's challenging to keep up the

current case of these intensive investigation. deborah feyerick, cnn, new york. >> incredible. >> that's a lot of money. 19 minutes after the hour. here's what's new this morning. take a look at this. 32 tons of pot. that's worth about $65 million on the street. the marijuana was discovered when the feds busted a secret underground tunnel that ran all the way from mexico to san diego. the smuggling operation was so sophisticated the ntunnel was equipped with elevators and railcars. 72 hours underwater. the goal for florida diver alan sherid trying to break the current world record, the longest saltwater scuba dive. he began the dive yesterday. it's his second attempt at the record. last time, rough waters forced him to bail out early. the current record is 48 hour under water in a scuba dive. >> going to try to do 22 more. the world's first superman

comic sets a new record. action com is sold at auction for more than $2 million. the highest comic book sale price ever. get this. it only costs 10 cents when published way back in 1938. according to "ed hollywood reporter," actor nicolas cage is the seller. he bought it 14 years ago for about $150,000. a good return on investments. >> yeah. still to come on "american morning," three years since the auto bailout. detroit's big three are celebrating a milestone. big news. we're going to tell you about that. why those new white coca-cola cans are getting a, shall we say, frosty reception from consumers. we'll tell you why. you're watching "american morning." nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

welcome back. "minding your business" this morning, that big november jobs report comes out this morning in about two hours from now. economists expect about 110,000 jobs were added to the american economy last month. they think the unemployment rate stayed steady at 9%. of course, too high. right? and on wall street, u.s. stock futures are right now trading higher after a minor, a very minor, pullback yesterday. the dow, the broader s&p 500 closed down slightly. the nasdaq up. futures looking higher this morning. a potential relief for homeowners facing foreclosure. mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie mac are putting foreclosures on hold during the holidays. they did this last year, too. we should note this only applies to mortgages held or controlled by fannie or freddie. about half of all mortgages. a number of banks have also said they would suspend evictions during the holidays. general motors announcing it

will buy back a chevy volt. it will buy it back, from anybody who's concerned about your safety for driving this car. the move follows a federal investigation into possible post-crash fires started by the volt's battery. gm also conceding it won't sell the 10,000 volts it hoped to sell in 2011. the auto industry posting its best month for sales, though, since the cash for clunkers program back in 2009. those gains led by u.s. carmakers. chrysler reporting its sales soared 45% from a year ago. general motors, up 7% from a year earlier and ford up 13%. and if you've used ticketmaster in the past 12 years you could be getting money back. according to "business insider "a because of a proposed clash action settlement's, the ticket settlement is being asked to refund the $1.50 for every ticket pushed between october 1999 and this past october because customers caught on to the fact ticketmaster was

profiting from those processing fees. "american morning" will be right back after this quick break. whoa. whoa. how do you top great vacations? whoa. getting twice the points on great vacations. whoa! use chase sapphire preferred and now get two times the points on travel, and two times the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year.

congratulations. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company, you don't just add, you multiply. ♪ discover something new... verizon. ah, agents, i don't know if you've heard, but our training organization was recently named the "best in the world." nice little pat on the back. ahhhh! [ chuckles ] ah...that's good, that's good. that's, uh, that's...fun. it is, after all, a celebration for all of us. [ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers

♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪

i had known her as a friend. she wasn't the only friend that i had helped in these tough economic times. >> herman cain heading back to atlanta to see his wife for the very first time since another woman accused him of a 13-year affair. the candidate insisting it was only about money, as he also admitted getting out of the race is also an option on this "american morning." welcome back. it's 30 minutes past the hour. time for the morning's top stories -- waiting for the decision. herman cain is heading home to atlanta. the first time he'll speak to his wife face to face since another woman accused him of having a 13-year affair.

now, cain admits helping at the woman, a friend he says, ginger white with the bill, but he never cheated on his wife. and agreeing with president obama and democrats that extending the pay roll tax holiday will help the economy, but the senate still blocked democratic and republican plans to extend the cuts that expire at the end of the year. at issue, how to pay for the move. a historic day in iraq. u.s. troops handing over the keys to their mirror telitary headquarters in iraq. it's now under the full control of the iraqi government. it's down to a game of she said/she said between presidential candidate herman cain and alleged mistress ginger white. cain admit head gave money to her but didn't cheat on his wife. he spoke with lawrence adonal

ov o'donnell. ginger white explained why they texted each other dozens of time over the past few months. >> at the end of the day i know i am telling the truth. i would never come out with something like this if it wasn't true. hon honestly, i didn't want to come out with this, and i know that travel was involved and sex was involved. >> herman cain's attorney lynne wood went at it with piers asking so many questions about the growing scandal. >> why are you doing an interview? we're always talking about the scandal? >> a good question after sitting here the last 15 minutes, but i came here to try to put what was going on in herman cain's life and candidacy into perspective, to try to bring attention to the fact that i don't believe that he's been treated fairly, that i don't believe that many people, particularly in the media, have

utilized their common sense in approaching these accusations and also come on to say that i believe that if you're going to attack and impugn someone's character, then do it with facts. not unfounded, unsupported accusations. in your example, if hypothetically it were to be proven that any political candidate had, in fact, engaged in a longtime extramarital affair, if that is a proven fact, then use that fact to judge that candidate's character, but don't judge that candidate's character simply because somebody has made an accusation for whatever their motive may be, and they aren't in a position to prove it. >> herman cain says we'll know whether he's in or out of the presidential race by monday. the senate passed a $662 billion defense bill that contains a new policy for

detaining and trying terror suspects. the measure calls for $43 billion in cuts from last year's defense budget and despite threats of a presidential veto, it would require the military to hold suspected terrorists linked to al qaeda, even if captured on u.s. soil. the senate bill has to be reckon's sighed with the house version. the senate also unanimously passed a harsh new economic sanctions against iran. the plan would cut off iran's central bank from the rest of the world's banks. the white house is balking fearing it move could cost us a lot more money at the gas pump. here's cnn correspondent barbara starr. >> reporter: the u.s. has long used sanctions to try to stop iran's cash flow for financing its nuclear efforts and support for terrorism, but now the administration is saying, not so fast. to a tough, new bipartisan sanctions proposal from congress. the idea -- target iran's central bank by

cutting off u.s. banking with any foreign banks that bank with the iranians. much of the banking with iran is done to pay for iranian oil. the administration is considering action against iran's central bank, but officials warn the congressional proposal could be a bad idea in today's fragile economy. >> it is a very, very powerful threat. it is a they to essentially, for the commercial banks, to end their ability to transact in the dollar and their ability, really, to function as major international financial institutions. >> reporter: accord togo peing o >> reporter: accord togo peing oil earns them more than $72 billion a year. countries around the world buying iranian oil pay for it through transactions paid for by

the banks . >> it would say if they continue, their action to the united states can be terminated. >> reporter: such a sanction could trim world oil supplies and cut iran's ability to sell oil to european allies nap could be hurt by oil prices, reaction, less supplies. thus, higher prices. >> which would mean that iran would, in fact, have more money to fuel its nuclear ambitions, not less. >> we don't want to create a situation where we spook oil markets, drive up the price and inadvert dentally enrich the regime who would enjoy a massive windfall if they were to happen. >> reporter: so administration officials have a dilemma. how badly do they want to hurt iran and then possibly hurt americans more in the pocketbook in an election year? barbara starr, cnn, the

pentagon. secretary of state hillary clinton wrapping up a landmark two-day visit to myanmar after historic meeting with aung san suu kyi who plans to run for parliament after two decades in captivity. she supports the immediate return of an ambassador to myanmar and called on help for its administration systems. vice president joe biden touching down to discuss concerns over the uprising in neighboring syria. then biden heads to greece, not surprisingly, he will hold talks with the new prime minister and talk about the greek debt. that crisis will top the agenda. gripping new audiotapes from emergency responders called to the scene of a deadly stage collapse at the indiana fair in august. these taped obtained by cnn affiliate wthr in indianapolis. they reveal a chaotic scene in

the aftermath of the tragedy. turns out state police knew a bad storm was coming before the disaster, and they had concerns for the thousands of fans who had gathered at the fairgrounds for the sugarland concert. >> all units, all units, severe thunderstorm warning until 9:45 for marion county. use your best judgment. find shelter when needed. >> have they released fans from the grandstands yet? >> have no information on that. i will check and advise. >> turns out, there wouldn't be enough time. with three minutes the stage collapse under the force of 60 miles an hour winds and radio calls from county dispatchers and emergency personnel paint a picture of mass confusion and frustration. >> the grandstands are gone. fire control, grandstands, i'm

calling in people. >> -- now working, we need to get the trucks down here in order for us to start working the medical thing to get patients out of here. do what we have to do. >> transport units continuing to scroun . >> what plan? what resources? critical, a lot of our patients are going from yellow to red, going into shock. >> four people died at the scene. three more died later. sugarland named in a lawsuit fileed by survivors and family members of four of the victims who were killed. we reached out to indiana state police for comment about the release of their dispatch tapes and were told to try back later today. the next hour of "american morning" we're going to play more of the tapes from that tragic night including one instance where an ambulance was loaded with two patients and

then no one could find the driver. former penn state football coach jerry sandusky will not try for a plea deal. that's according to his attorney who tells cnn that rumors of a possible plea bargain are "completely unfounded." sandusky is charged with sexually abusing at least eight boys he meft through this youth charity called second mile. a florida judge issued an emergency order for law enforcement to pick up country singer mindy mccready's 5-year-old son zaalexanderzande. he missed a court-ordered visit tags rights. not charged with a crime and mccready is currently pregnant with twins. here's a story that got our attention. barely out a month. you can now say good-bye to coca-cola's new white can. now, here's the problem. the company is pulling them after customers started complaining because they said they look too much like the silver diet coke can.

what is coca-cola doing? they're change the color. they'll roll out classic red holiday cans next week. >> yeah. people don't like it when you mess with something like a brand, like their coke. i just want to grab the coke. there you go. >> don't training tradition. ahead on "american morning," etiquette in the digital age. faux pas people make with their mobile devices in the workplace. is it okay to text in a meeting with your boss? we're going to tell you for sure. it's 40 minutes after the hour. i habe a cohd. yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card.

the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game. with spark, the boss earns double miles on every purchase, every day. that's setting the bar pretty high. owning my own business has never been more rewarding. coming through! [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. [ growling ] captain, one step at a time.keep going! come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ] long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. see the adventures of tintin, only in theaters.

welcome back. texting, tweeting, e-mailing knop doubt americans are glued to their smart phones 24/7.

a new intel survey of mobile etiquette in the workplace suggests we need to exercise restraints, shall we say, on the job with all of these gadgets. who better to talk about this than someone whose name is sn synonymous and the 18th edition of emily post's etiquette is in stores now and it's big. manners for the modern world. >> there's a lot of manners. a lot of tech manners this time around. >> think about it, when the first etiquette guide came out, the "post etiquette" we could never have imagined, the fourth utensil at the dinner plate was going to be a phone. >> no. in 1822, emily post did not have this on her agenda for sure. >> the workplace. interesting to me. a survey with intel. what do you find? >> one of the interesting things of those surveyed 70% said yes, having mobile devices in the workplace makes us for productive. we're always in touch.

79% said it makes us much more distracted. it's how you use it. four in ten h.r. managers said pet peeves were reported about other workers using these in the workplace. i would actually bet more people feel it and just don't report it. top things. phones ringing. are we still there? really? phones ringing in a meeting? people surfing the web on a laptop during a meeting. >> i take a cue from other people. if you walk in, you have bosses, there's no -- they don't have a phone or blackberry out, they have decided this is a meeting they're going to be involved in, i don't want to be the one pulling out a blackberry. >> follow their lead, and even if the boss does have it out -- >> i'm not the boss. >> exactly. >> tell me about the mobile time-out? i mean, should we be setting more rules in the workplace for thousand make sure there are times when we are checking these devices and staying connected with our team and other places we're 0 not. >> 85% of h.r. managers in the

survey say, yes, set guidelines. i think everybody should set guidelines about what's expected. institute a 50-10 rule. every meeting, 50 minutes, 10-minute break. people know they have that release coming to go and check e-mail. it will keep them more focused. >> let them know ahead of time. we're going to do this. 50 minutes, you'll be able to have a digital time-out and let people know? >> exactly. they can count on it. >> let me ask you some of this advice, someone calls you on the phone, don't text them back. call them back. if someone e-mails, e-mail back but probably not okay to text them back. try to match the communication they're giving you. is that a fair way how to read people on what kind of media to use? >> parody, respond in kind. think of the ways you communicate. if you are always on e-mail, that's a warning sign to me. you want a healthy communication diet. a variety of differ thing. otherwise, sounds like e-mails a

crutch. how could it be appropriate for every situation. >> talk about the holiday parties coming up. how do you behave with your digital device in a festive atmosphere? should you are sitting there answering e-mails? is it okay to pull out your blackberry or smart phone at a holiday party? >> no. you're there to network in the room, not socially networking on a device over here. if you have to check in on e-mail or the baby-sitter with the kids, go in the hallway. away from the party mood so you're not the one in the middle of the room bringing work into the party. >> i wonder, you have to be careful with the pictures, too. the a.m. party, a no photos posted for the a.m. party for obvious reasons. because it starts at 9:00 in the morning, too. what about the holiday party posting pictures, tagging people online? i would say don't do it at all. at all. >> i vote generally with no. some workplaces probably okay. you better be darn sure you and your boss are going to be okay with that photo on facebook or

twitter next day. >> interesting. i was just as a conference, commercial real estate executive told me he had to rescind a $200,000 a year job offer to somebody because they did, they found him on facebook with pictures tagged at company events that were a little too rowdy and decided, forget it. because of what was on facebook. pictured tagged on facebook, rescinded a big offer. a cautionary tale but it's happening. >> it is hoopappening. your image needs to align with the company image even on social networking and twitter. >> the most important thing in the workplace. talk to you more about the holidays. thanks, anna. >> thank you. manners at the holiday, always alina? >> looking forward to that one. thanks, christine. 49 minutes after the hour. he is no stranger to poking fun at himself. texas governor rick perry gets the last laugh with a new campaign ad.

it's a little unorthodox. we're going to show it to you, straight ahead. it's like having portable navigation. a bluetooth connection. a stolen vehicle locator. roadside assistance. and something that could help save your life - automatic help in a crash. it's the technology of five devices in one hard-working mirror. because life happens while you drive. this holiday, give someone you love an onstar fmv mirror for only 199. visit onstar.com for retailers.

50 minutes part the hour. what you need to start the day -- we're watching herman cain. the gop candidate is heading home today to speak to his wife. their first face-to-face meeting since accused of having a 13-year affair's cain says he'll make a decision about his campaign by monday.

the senate blocked both the democratic and republican plans on extending the pay roll tax cut that expires at the end of the year. the parties remain divided over how to pay for it. iraq is control of baghdad's camp victory which served at headquarters for the u.s. military almost nine years. the formal hand over took place overnight. and results from the first round of egypt be elections since hosni mubarak was overthrown. two islamic parties claim their lead in the ballot count. howling santa ana winds leaving a trail of destruction from southern california to the colorado rockies. wind gusts as high as 140 miles per hour knocked down trees and power lines leaving hundreds of thousands of people in the dark. three -- two -- one -- >> and the christmas season is officially underway in washington. president obama and the first family lit up the new national

christmas tree last night. the 2 -foot colorado blue replaced the past 32-year-old tree after strong winds knocked it down back in february. that's a beautiful tree. 52 minutes after the hour. that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" is back after this.

it's one of those stories you'd like to believe. two guys claiming they launched a beer that went where no beer had gone before, to space. >> but was it really the first beer in space? or was it just a hot air viral marketing hoax?

cnn's jeanne moos explains. >> reporter: forget 99 bottles of beer on the wall. how about, one can of beer -- in space? >> shoot a beer into space today. >> reporter: atamped to a weather balloon? that is what danny and rich claim. >> welcome to mission control. a/k/a, my parents' garage. >> reporter: saying they saw youtube videos of people sending lame stuff into space. like an iphone. why not the first beer in space? >> we happen to be drinking a couple light beers at the time and we were like, duh. >> reporter: some say you'd have to be duh to believe this story, but we'll get to that. the guys say they contacted the makers of natty lite. it's not known for being out of this world, shall we say. the website gives it a d-minus for views from, this is a great beer for the money to perfect to

clean your toilet with. danny and rich say they packed a can of natty into a styrofoam cooler along way camera positioning it to shoot the jrny with an empty can of beer on the outside as a decker anchts thank you. >> see ya later, buddy! >> reporter: next come the lovely images of the beer going up, up and away above the clouds to 90,000 feet, then atmosphere. pippy subtitles and music add -- the balloon seemingly pops, and the cooler plummets down. slowed by a parachute -- until -- splashdown. gps on the cooler supposedly allows the guys to locate it. do i smell a rat? perhaps a gorilla of marketing campaign? the date to launch is wrong. anheuser-busch admits further

opening a can of worms, we believe at least one of the guys has a market company and may have didn't event planning for anheuser-busch years back. anheuser-busch assured cnn the video is real, not computer generated and danny and rich approached the company to do this and. not paid. >> this beer's intact. >> reporter: the story, someone posted one small step for man. one giant leap for alcoholics. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> funny. all right. >> that jeanne has a way with words. herman cain headed home for a key meeting with his twhwife t could be the end of his campaign. . peggy? no more points - coupons now. coupons? coupons. coupons? next, you convert coupons to tokens.

tokens? then you trade tokens for credits. and then i get the cash? then you call back. bye bye. peggy? hello? what just happened? want rewards that make sense? switch to discover. america's #1 cash rewards program. it pays to discover.

-- the revelation and the surprise. >> cain saying his wife didn't know about his friendship with alleged mistress ginger white. the candidate heading home right now to make a key decision about the future of his campaign.

about 30 minutes or less before it comes down. >> warnings released extreme weather was in fact a worry minutes before a deadly stage collapse at the indiana state fair. more gridlock in washington with a fatter paycheck. your paycheck on the line. butting heads over the pay roll tax with time running out. questions whether the new iphone is pro-life, on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com all right. good morning, everyone. it's friday. thank god it's friday. friday, december 2nd. ali and carol are both off. i'm christine romans along with alina cho on this "american morning." >> good morning. we're looking at the weekend. >> a few hours from now. >> up first, the countdown is on

from herman cain. he is heading back home to atlanta this morning, and the decision about whether to continue his campaign could be in his wife's hands. cain says we will know by monday at the latest whether he's in or out of the race. yesterday for the first time he admitted that getting out is an option. cain acknowledged that he gave money to the woman who says she had a 13-year affair with him, and last night on fox news, cain said his wife only found out about his long friendship with ginger white when the rest of us did. >> and it's correct and she was hurt that she didn't know about this friend that i was helping financially. she was aware of many of the other friends that i have helped. >> ginger white spoke to lawrence o'donnell over at msnbc last night and again insisted it was a lot more than just a friendship. >> at the end of the day, i know that i am telling the truth. i would never come out with something like this if it wasn't

true. honestly, i didn't want to come out with this, and i know that travel was involved and sex was involved. >> oh, boy. here to talk about the latest developments, senior editor mark preston. >> i have to repeat what you said, alina. oh, boy. what a soap opera has been with herman cain a candidate who came out of nowhere in the past couple months to spring to the top of the polls, to now come crashing down. right now, if you are to talk to republican strategists across the country, they're saying that people are moving on. herman cain has had his day in the sun. the fact of the matter is, there is no way that he can win the republican presidential nomination. we've just seen is poll come out of iowa this morning, an important state, shows that his support plummeted there. the fact of the matter is,

alina, herman cain was never really going to win the republican presidential nomination. however, he could have become very influential in the process. we don't think that's going to happen any more. >> some people are suggesting he got into the race to sell books. easy to say. hindsight is 20/20. having said that, if cain gets out of the race, it's really newt gingrich who will benefit. right? >> reporter: it is going to be newt gingrich. polling across the country shows newt gingrich picks up all of that support. we took a poll down in florida, a key primary state. look at numbers. newt gingrich climbed 39 points in just a month, while herman cain has dropped 24 points. look where that support is going. it is going to newt gingrich right now. 30 days until the iowa caucus. newt gingrich right now has all the momentum that herman cain once had several weeks ago. herman cain at this point is being dogged by these allegations, and there's just no way that he can shake them at this point, alina. >> senior political editor for

cnn. mark preston. thanks. this morning congress has just 30 days to work out its differences or you and 160 million other americans may face higher taxes next year. last night the senate failed to pass both the republican and democratic extensions of the payroll tax holiday. it's expected to expire at year's end. our brianna keilar is live at the white house. brianna, seems both parties want to pass an extension. it's always meant to be a temporary tax holiday that eventually has to be put back in. both parties say they want to pass an extension of this temporary holiday but disagree how to pay for it. that's where the politics get ugly. >> reporter: right. and important to remember the bottom line here is all indications are that ultimately congress is going to figure out a way to pass this payroll tax extension, but we care so much about this. why? because if they were to fail to do this, you're talking about

$1,000 for most middle-class families that they wouldn't have next year. you know in their bank accounts, that they did have this year. and, of course in this economy, you know, $1,000 certainly helps. so the problem is getting to that point. there's a whole lot of uncertainty and a ton of politics. it's not going to really be a pretty sight. so last night the senate failed to pass this payroll tax cut extension. also what it would do is also give a payroll tax cut to small businesses, and so now you have democrats really hitting republicans, because at least in the democratic proposed way to pay for it, it was a tax on people making $1 million or more. what democrats call the millionaires surtax. listen to what president obama said in a statement following this vote. he said, tonight senate republicans chose to raise taxes on nearly 160 million hard-working americans because they refused to ask a few hundred millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair

share. that is unacceptable. it makes absolutely no sense. republicans are saying this surtax actually is hitting too many small businesses, that it gets in the way of job creation, but democrats are preti inpressd with this message of republicans really not standing up for the middle class and instead protecting the rich map is the argument you see going on right knew, guys. >> brianna keilar, bottom line, a good point to make, bottom line, there's hope they're going to get this figured out by the end of the year. thanks, brianna. >> exactly. one of the most important employment reports released next hour, the november jobs report. economists predict the economy added 110,000 jobs last month. now, based on that estimate, the unemployment rate would stay unchanged at 9%. new, chilling audiotapes from emergency responders at the scene of a deadly stage collapse last august at the indiana state fair. these tape was obtained by cnn affiliate wthr in indianapolis

and reveal chaos and confusion in the aftermath of this tragedy. turns out state police knew a bad storm was coming, and they had concerns about all of those fans who were gathering for a sugarland concert that never got started. >> all units, all units, severe thunderstorm warning until 9:45 for marion county. use your best judgment. find shelter when needed. >> reporter: that state police radio call came five minutes before disaster struck. dispatchers expressing concerns for a swelling crowd of sugarland fans. >> and they released fans from gra grandstands yet? >> i have no information on that. will check and adds vise. >> reporter: turns out, there wouldn't be enough time. with three minutes of that radio call all hell broke loose. >> the grandstands are gone. fire control, grandstands, i'm

calling a mass casualty. >> reporter: cnn affiliate wthr obtained this 11-page fire department post-incident report. the city blacked out its findings because of a possible lawsuit. here's what is clear from the dispatch tapes. in the moments after the stage collapse, there was no clear disaster plan in place and ambulances were challenged getting into the fair were grunds a grounds and getting out. >> en route, 520, 24, 31 and 61 are on property. they're trying to make their way to the grandstand and getting into a great deal of gridlock. >> reporter: the scene was so chaotic, one ambulance loaded with two injured patients, but no one could find the driver. >> they're trying to locate the drivers now. they're loaded and ready. >> working on it now. what we're running into is we have multiple people that are just -- having a hard time controlling it. we need medical carts down here

closer to the stage, it would be really good. we need to rethink our strategy. it's not working. we freed to get tneed to get th here to get people out of here. do what we need to do. have the state police open the lines. we can't have the patients dragged up the pavement to you. >> they continue to scrounge. >> what plan what resources down there? critical a lot of our patients are starting do go from yellow it red on us. they're going into shock. >> four people died at the scene. three more died later. more than 40 others hurt. the country duo sugarland has been named in a lawsuit filed by survivors and family members of four of the victims killed. the suit alleges breach of reasonable care to the victims and seeks unspecified damages. cnn reached out to ind iana for comment. we expect to hear back from them

this morning. and the august kidnapping of a 7-year-old u.s. citizen in pakistan. ayman al zawahiri can be heard saying they've captured an american jew called warren weinstein. gunman took him from his home just days before he planned to move back to the u.s. al sa wa zawahiri listed eight demands. the closing of the u.s. military prison also requested at guantanamo bay. and passing sanctions against iran cutting off iran's central bank from the rest of the world's banks. the white house is balking say it could backfire and cost us a lot more money at the gas pump. this morning we're expecting results from egypt's first round of parliamentary elections. egyptians voted monday and tuesday for the first time since president hosni mubarak was forced out of power in february.

well, it was saddam hussein's palace before it became headquarters for the u.s. war effort, renamed camp victory, and this morning, iraq is officially in control of the sprawling baghdad base. the formal hand over coming after yesterday's ceremony where vice president biden praised the service and sacrifice of u.s. and iraqi soldiers. still to come on this friday morning, foster care kids are being prescribed certain psychiatric medications at an alarming rate at the age of 1. guess what your tax dollars are paying for it. we'll explain. engineers in very high demand in this slumping economy. companies like google and caterpillar offering $65,000 a year salaries just to start. so why are so many students dropping out of engineering? we'll tell you. and is apple's latest smartphone pro-life? seri won't direct users to

abortion clinics. is it a glitch, or is this on purpose? you're watching "american morning." congratulations. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company, you don't just add, you multiply. ♪ discover something new... verizon.

if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist

if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists.

welcome back to "american morning." it's 15 minutes after the hour. hundreds of thousands of people from the rockies to the pacific coast are still without power after big winds storms. southern california the worst hit with the worst santa ana winds in a decade. hurricane force winds as strong as 140 miles per hour toppled trees and brought down power lines. ed winds are expected to kick up again later today. >> worse santa ana winds in a decade. rob marciano in the weather center. good morning. >> unusual setup. so widespread, another reason it was so unusual. today we'll see them again, although right now it's relative hi calm, but we'll see more of a kickup in the winds over the next couple of hours, but 40 to 60 mile-an-hour winds versus 60 to 90, what we saw yesterday.

mammoth mountain reported yesterday 150 miles an hour, right now, 50 miles an hour. we'll take that. but another resurgence of the winds tonight into tomorrow morning briefly until calming down on sunday. look at centerville, utah. 102 mile winds. whitaker's peak, and 69 yesterday, downtown, and widespread damage in nevada and utah as well. besides the winds, snow is an issue with this system as well. check out the snow falling in denver yesterday. the front range got a decent amount. denver proper, three or four. boulder, 7. high temperature in denver yesterday was 61 degrees. the ground relatively warm and didn't stick around all that much. 6 to 12 inches potentially. winter storm warnings posted in northern new mexico and then this storm makes its way up through the north and east. today's travel delay, nothing in denver. wind in san francisco and los angeles, and vegas. should be kept to below an hour. the storm itself makes its way

towards the northeast. the mid-mississippi river valley, sunday rain with this system, but the east coast looks to be pretty nice. >> all right. thanks, rob. nice to see you. apple's new iphone is being called pro-life. >> the siri helps you find addresses and phone numbers but not abortion clinics. cnn's mary snow has the story. >> where can i find a suhr market? it's one of the hottest functions of the new iphones. >> i found a number of supermarkets. >> reporter: siri, the virtual assistant, ask it just about anything and it finds an answer, if it can't it leads to you a search engine, but apple is having to respond top questions about its new voice-activated assistant. those questions were first raised by bloggers asking why siri could find anything from strip clubs to viagra but apparently draw agency blank when asked about abortion and

contraception. we're standing outside a planned parenthood clinic in new york. where can i find an abortion clinic? the latest iphone with the siri app. >> sorry. i couldn't find any abortion clinics. >> reporter: ask the same question in washington, d.c., and the blog story says siri comes up with an anti-abortion center in virginia and one in pennsylvania. a similar search on google drebts users to several clinics where abortions are performed. the aclu and abourse advocates rights raises concerns but apple is blaming it on a technical glitch saying these are not intentional glitches meant to offend anyone. simply mean as we bring siri from baeta to a final product w find places we can do better and will in the coming weeks. not everyone is buying it. eli pariser is the former director of moveon.org. >> i think it's a pretty thin answer. the fact is that for a long time

media companies have made it more difficult for women to find family planning assistance. this is not the first time this has happened. >> reporter: one analyst who covers apple says he doesn't believe there's a hidden agenda, since apple doesn't use its own data base but wee lies on information gathered from partners but he says the company's culture of silence will likely only add to suspicions. >> you see lots and lots of pretty wild theories and speculations about new products and services, and, you know, hidden agendas and all of those kinds of things with apple more than you do with other company, because they tend to constrain the amount of information that they make available to the marketplace. >> reporter: meantime, the abortion rights group pro-choice america foundation posted and e-mail received from apple's ceo after writing him. the group says it appreciates the prompt response, and that it will continue to monitor siri

until apple's efforts to work out the case are finished. mary snow, cnn, new york. well, he's been pretty good at this before. so he's going to try it again. rick perry trying to turn his gaffes into laughs. the texas governor was on "the tonight show with jay leno" last night. the best part may have come during the commercial breaks. check at the new ad his campaign just released in iowa last night. >> commerce, education and the -- what's the third one there? >> the department of energy. you know, we've all lost our tran of thought before, but not many have done it on national tv. now, if you want a slick debater, i'm obviously not your guy, but if you want a clean house in washington with a balanced budget amendment a flat tax and a part-time congress, i'm your man. i'm rick perry and -- what's that line again? i'm rick perry. and i approve of this message. >> not bad. pretty clever. this is the third commercial

released from team perry in just the last 24 hours. there are 23 days left until the iowa caucuses. >> ever lost your con trags on television? >> already happened this morningant and will in the next hour and a half. i promise. herman cain seeking his biggest endorsement yet from his wife. the candidate is heading home right now as a sex scandal threatens to destroy his presidential bid. we'll talk about whether the campaign can survive. and changes at the drive-th drive-thru. the king trying something new. don't mess with the fries. are they messing with the fries? it's 22 after the hour.

welcome back. "minding your business." the big november jobs report comes out this morning in about an hour. economists forecast 110,000 job was added to the economy last month. they think the unemployment rate stayed steady at 9%. on wall street, u.s. stock futures right now trading sharply higher after a minor pullback yesterday. dow futures, in fact, right now are up more than 100 points. yesterday the dow and the s&p 500 were down slightly. the nasdaq was higher. massachusetts attorney general is now suing some of the nation's biggest banks accusing them of "unlawful and deceptive conduct in the foreclosure process." among those tashted, bank of america, citi, wells fargo and jpmorgan chase. the banks, meanwhile, say they're negotiating a settlement with a number of attorney generals regarding a number of their foreclosures. honda replacing air bags in

119,000 cars. the driver's air bag may deploy with too much pressure are and injure the driverthe cars include the pop la civic and accord made in the early 2000s. and cualling a report on a merger with t-mobile, unfair, biased one-sided and speculative. earlier in the week the fcc all but abused at&t of lying about the benefits of its merger saying it would not create new jobs and lessen competition and consumer choice. a new fry in town. burger king introduces a new french fry recipe said to have less sodium and a new coating making them crispier and keeps them hotter longer. they faced increased competition from windy's and five guys. "american morning" will be right back after this break. [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil

but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth!

don't try to pin that -- >> i wondered -- >> i do have my own timetable. >> the candidate heading home to face his wife for the first time since accused of cheating on her on this "american morning." good morning, everybody. half past the hour right now. top story, house speaker john boehner saying he agrees with president obama and the democrats that extending the pay roll tax will help the economy, but the senate still blocks the plan to extend the cuts which expires at the end of the year. the issue, how to pay for it. and secretary of state hillary clinton wrapping up a landmark two-day visit in myanmar by visiting with aung san suu kyi. she plans to run for parliament in the southeastern asian after

two decades of being under arrest. secretary clinton told her the time is not right just yet for a myanmar ambassador. and foster children being prescribed psychiatric medications at doses higher than the mex mum levels approved by the fda and hundreds received five or more psychiatric drugs at the same time. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen has much more on this report in about 20 minutes. alina? >> thanks. the countdown is on for herman cain expected to discuss the future of his campaign with his wife back home in atlanta today. cain has not seen his wife since a woman named ginger white claimed they had a 13-year affair. last night on fox news, cain talked about when he could make up his mind. >> before monday. i haven't set the exact date. before monday i will -- we will make a decision. we will make a decision. >> joining us now to talk more about this, cnn contributors

will cane in the studio in new york and hilary rosen in washington, d.c. good to see you both. will, start with you. you heard that, will cane -- you're will caine. herman cain said we'll know by monday. staying in or getting out offed race? >> depends on what he's campaigning for. for president, logical conclusion, he's probably done. raising his profile or sell maria books, why rush? why get out? i've been slow to this analysis -- >> why get out? he's running out of money. >> he can peter along, keep his name out in, sell more books. i've been slow to adopt that analysis. i'm thinking that might be true. he's not truly running for president, all of these scandals, all of these issue, the existence of a 13-year relationship, the sexual harassment claim hess knew about, he's known about them all the tile.

he could have been prepared and wasn't. winging every aspect of his campaign says me he was never very serious about actually becoming president. >> interesting. hillary, i want to talk to you. the leader of the new hampshire -- spoke to cain. i want to listen to that and get your reaction on the other side. >> it may appear now that, why didn't i tell her about this when it was going on? you're absolutely right. but, you know, in retrospect. but retrospect doesn't necessarily change what we're dealing with now. >> you two are friends anyway? >> she did not know we were friends. >> okay. >> until she -- >> until she came out with this -- with this story. >> ouch. that was so painful. but in the end, hillary, isn't this really about money and support? >> well, herman cain, remember, when he was accused of sexual harassment, raised several million dollars from conservatives outraged at the media trying to kill this fresh

face in republican politics. so, you know, if he's actually spent all of that money, i'd be surprised. and probably disappointed in their management. so i think he's probably got some money to keep going, and frankly, i'm kind of where will is. i don't really think anything he's done is anymore hypocritical or terrible than newt gingrich and we're lauding him now as the republican front-runner. newt cheated on his wife multiple times. what i find interesting about cain is, that he kind of personifies the sort of non-politician politician who, you know, this country is constantly been seeking over the years. we're always looking for the guy to come in outside of politics, to come in and tell us the truth and not be your typical you know, spin meister and the like, but, you know, it just doesn't really work that way. you need to be better prepared. you need better, thoughtful answers and actually need to think about policy. something he hasn't done. but i can't imagine a practiced

politician sitting there when he's on camera kind of talking about the conversation he and his wife might have about the affair he's had for the last 13 years. >> always that thought -- >> completely spontaneous. there's something interesting about it. >> there are people who say, maybe he was just hoping it wouldn't come out. you did touch on, hillary, on newt gingrich. i want to talk to you on that, will. if cain gets out of the race, newt gingrich stands to benefit. listen to gingrich, he may not need it. listen to what he said on fox and abc recently. >> i would have thought originally it was going to be mitt and not mitt. i think it may turn out to be newt and not newt. >> it's very hard not to look at the recent polls that the odds are very high i'm going to be the nominee. >> all right. isn't that a little early to be saying that? >> you know, something you said before absolutely blows my mind nap is, herman cain support

stands to gain for newt gingrich. the all miss washington outsider. the reason for his fandom and support threatens to flow to the washington insider. as conservative, the shining, distracting object that keeps pulling our attention away is style. we keep looking for the person that can passionately take on president obama. meanwhile, we're focusing on a man who in every respect is as much as a flip-flopper as unprincipled as mitt romney. the difference between newt gingrich and mitt romney is not one of principles. newt gingrich staid with, hillary pointed out, character flaw, also crony capitalism. full of it. i want to challenge hillary on one thing. i was so fashion it about this. the lesson of herman cain's failure. people from outside washington that businessmen with no political experience have no place running for president. that cannot be the lesson. the lesson must be simply, know your stuff. prepare. that does not require previous political experience. >> i'd agree with that.

>> you know -- >> wait. alina, see my hands up in the air, praying. i'm praying -- i'm praying for newt gingrich to be the republican nominee. >> i know you are. >> like this. >> talk a little about romney, because will touched on that. romney is seen by many as more electable in a general election against obama, yet the momentum right now is behind newt gingrich. so if you're advises romney, what are you telling him right now? hillary? >> well, look. i think actually the race is wide open and it's shocking we're only a month out from iowa. people like jon huntsman, frankly, who you know, whether you agree with him or not, actually has a lot of conservative, is probably going to get a second look, particularly coming into new hampshire. mitt romney cannot seal this deal, and he's just going to have to convince people that he's going to be steady eddie. these going to be the tortoise

in this race and i'm not sure people have that faith. that's why i think this nomination is so historically just completely up in the air so soon into the -- when the election is so soon coming up. >> hilary rosen, and i feel ib can say this on friday, who i saw sing as a supreme recent lip at a birthday party. >> really? can we hear it now? hillary, take it away. >> that was crazy. >> and will, i know played water polo at pepperdine university. thanks for joining us. back to you, christine. >> i feel like i really know those guests now. 38 after the hour. what's new this morning, fierce santa ana winds ripping through southern california. in some area, gusting topping 140 miles per hour. that's hurricane force. tense of thousands of homes without power and l.a. county declared a state of emergency. the strongest wind storm in

nearly a decade. an eighth grade student turned away from a private school in pennsylvania beacause he's hiv positive. the 13-year-old is suing milton hershey school for discrimination after they refused him after his status last february. aimed at helping students from low-income family. the school said it made the right legal discussion under the law. the suit was made to coincide with world aids day. a windfall for the former wife of a hong kong business tie kuhn. a court awarded her $154 million to maintain her lifestyle. the former husband's worth nearly $5 billion by comparison donald trump paid ivana $25 million in 1992. paul mccartney had to pay $48 million to heather mills in 2008. >> a way to make money. major companies like caterpillar are hunting for

engineers. so why are so many students dropping out of engineering? our poppy harlow joins us next to explain. and why consumers aren't buying the new white coke cans. tell you why. you're watching "american morning." congratulations. congratulations. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company, you don't just add, you multiply. ♪ discover something new... verizon.

we're back. engineers are in hiding. how many times have you heard mere talking about stems, science, technology and engineers. in the tough job market you think it's an incentive for college students to stick with the engineering major a. tiny problem. >> many undergrads are choosing to drop engineering instead turning to other majors lining english or business. what's behind this? our poppy harlow is here to explain. >> because it's incredibly hard and kids feel ill-prepared. seems simple, that's what we found out. i interview so many ceos. why aren't you hiring? >> we are. we need scientists and mathematicians. why wanted to find out why more kids aren't getting train ford

these really high-paying jobs. take a look. >> reporter: these machines are moving more than dirt. they're moving jobs, too. and entry-level engineers here rake in $65,000 a year. companies from caterpillar to kugel aoog google are on the hu engineers. you were an engineering major. then what? >> i was struggling in the program. so i decided to study something different and right now i'm majoring in public relation advertising. >> reporter: here at this city college in new york, only 35% of students who enter the engineering school graduate as engineers. with 9% unemployment and companies desperate to hire engineers, you'd think undergrads would be lining up to major in the sciences. but few are, and many who do are quitting them. >> i needed to raise my gpa to stay in the school and that's what i did. so i left. >> reporter: this woman dreamed of being a scientist since being a young girl.

>> about two-thirds dropout, that was actually my experience with my friends. they all started together at freshmen and switched out of the major. >> reporter: city college isn't alone. it's a national phenomenon. 22% of students choose a stem major, science, technology, engineering or math at some point in their college career, but only 14% finish school in a stem major. >> after just finishing the assignments you have to put in extra work. it's like maybe eight hours a day extra. >> a lot of students don't realize how much work is required to really become an engineer. >> the professors can do, also, a better job of making the case, this is something you want to do. >> reporter: many say they enter college ill-prepared. >> in high school i took a lot of calculus what i was interested in. >> reporter: 96% of students that enter engineering here

graduate as engineers. >> i believe and a lot of people in our school believe that engineering is the liberal arts of the 21st century. >> reporter: the engineering dean at columbia university atibts its success to a more practical approach. >> when you go to school all you see is the equations but not the application. we transform it into a bridge or building, you start losing interest. >> reporter: why spend so much time studying? is it worth it? >> it is worth it. >> reporter: why? >> because you become more well-rounded. you look at the world differently. >> reporter: here is something else you'll know if you majored in engineering. engineering undergrads generally don't get their degree in four years. it takes five to six years. more typical. city college got a grant from the department of education to try to promote engineering. one of the people i talked to in the story said what we don't have is a sputnik moment like in the '60s. a real calling. a real honor and calling to

major in the hard sciences. we don't have that now. he said we need that now. interesting. i look back at my education. i barely had to take math and science in college. it wasn't really required. >> so interesting, too. all of those kids switching to be english majors, the highest paid english major is writing technical material for s.t.e.m. couriers, where the action will be. but it is very difficult. >> one outside i found out about reporting the story, computer sciences. we'll dig into in for next month's jobs report. computer science major, getting hired in droves and more and more kids want to go into computer science. applying to that major. they look at a company like google or facebook and say, that is really, really cool. >> it's hard work. poppy par lowe, thanks. barely out a month and coca-cola pulling its white actic cans, designed to bring

awareness to polar bears and their habitats. coca-cola will roll out new red holiday cans next week. >> people don't like change. >> they don't. a new government report says foster kids are being prescribed up to four times as many psychotropic drugs as other children. what exactly are these drugs and how much are they getting? we're going to break it down with our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen next. and today's "romans' numeral" is 7. here's a hint. it has something to do with how thousands of people are doing after being hit hard by the recession. we're going to tie it into the jobs report coming up in less than an hour. it is 48 minutes after the hour.

here's what you need to know to start your day. herman cain watch. the candidate heading home to speech to his wife and family. the first-face-to-face meeting since he was accused of having a 13-year affair. cain said he will make a decision about his campaign by monday. the senate marked the both democratic and republican plans on extending the payroll tax holiday that expires at the end of the year. the parties remain divided over how just to pay for this. new numbers on the economy, that's when the november jobs report comes out. economists say 110,000 jobs were likely added last month and they expect the unemployment rate to

stay at 9%. chaos and confusion at the scene of a deadly stage collapse in august at the indiana state fair. seven people were killed. tapes show state police were concerned for audience members just moments before a storm triggered that tragedy. "american morning" back right after a short break.

welcome back this morning. this morning's "romans' numeral" a number that pertains to the news. this number is 7%. this is the percentage of people who feel they've gotten back to the lifestyle they had before they were being laid off during

the recession. only 7% have managed to get back to where they were once they were laid off or have exceeded that. that is according to a study out of rutgers and it really is an important political and economic story and as we watch europe, still hurting here. >> so many americans and you look at the unemployment number at 9%, i mean, it hasn't changed and it doesn't look like it's going to change either. >> we'll see, you know, at 8:30 we'll tell you more about the underemployment rates and all of that. we'll have that for you live when that happens. foster kids in this country are being overdrugged at a rate that is 2 to 4 times higher than other children. really incredible to hear. this is according to a new government report and in many cases the drugs aren't even approved for use in children so young. >> senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohan has details of this study. what kind of drugs are we talking about, foster children, some at very young ages are

being given? >> you will not believe this list of pharmaceuticals that we're giving children in foster care. we're talking really little children, sometimes babies. let's look at the list of some of these drugs. antianxiety, antidepressants and antipsychotics and many are taking more than five drugs at one time. if you could imagine a small child, even a baby getting so many drugs at one time. i mean, there's really no medical standard for that. doctors don't recommend giving five psychotaupic drugs to a child. >> and, like you mentioned, these are being administered to babies. i mean, just how young are these kids, elizabeth? >> there were kids under the age of 1 who were being prescribed antidepressants, antihistamines, an antianxiety drugs and really boggled the minds of the doctors that we talked to.

they can't believe these drugs are being prescribed to babies. they are not approved for babies and in many cases, the label says don't give to babies, yet, they're being prescribed for them. >> these are foster children. so, apparently, i guess this means taxpayers are funding this behavior. why, why are doctors prescribing so many drugs to these kids so young? why is this allowed to happen? why is it happening? >> christine, one doctor that we are talking to that has worked in the foster care system that says overdrugging kids is foster care's dirty little secret. these kids have been through a lot and sometimes they do need an anti-depressant or antianxiety drugs. ought lot of times, honest, it's easier to sedate the child. it's easier to deal with a sedated child. >> i hate to sound like a fuddy-duddy, this wasn't going on when we were children. they weren't prescribing drugs to babies like this. it's unbelievable that it's

happening, but, thank you for bringing it to light, elizabeth cohen, thanks so much. ahead next hour, herman cain's marriage summit. he's heading home for a key meeting with his wife. could it be the end of his campaign? the chilling newly released audiotapes from the deadly stage collapse last august at the indiana state fair. we'll take you inside the chaos and confusion just moments after disaster struck. you're watching "american morning." it's 56 minutes after the hour.

talking to his wife, checking the cash flow, herman cain heading home today to make a key decision about the future of his campaign. i'm christine romans. one of the most closely watched economic reports on wall street comes out in an hour. we're talking about the november jobs report. what it means for you, your job and the recovery on this "american morning."

good morning. it's friday, december 2nd. it's december already. good morning. welcome on a friday edition of "american morning." i'm alina cho along with christine romans. >> it's the first friday of the month, jobs report. the countdown is on for herman cain. expected to discuss the future of his campaign with his wife back home in atlanta. >> he has not seen his wife since a woman named ginger white claimed they had a 13-year affair. cain says a decision on his campaign could come by monday. joining us right now is host of "cnn state of the union" candy crowley. >> good morning. >> just about 48 hours until your show. do you think by then that herman cain will still be in the race? >> boy, i tell you. just listening to that lead-in, it's like this sort of window into a private life through, you know, the public eye. i mean, it's going to spend this

weekend explaining to his wife a friend she didn't know about who is now accusing him of a 13-year affair who he made multiple text messages, phone calls and lent money to. i think he ought to be worried about surviving this weekend with his wife. beyond that, it is very difficult. take away the problem he has with this alleged affair. because let's face it, newt gingrich had affairs. and he's now at the top of the polls. this isn't just about the latest allegation. it is about the series of allegations and how he has handled them. having said that, i also think it is very difficult to say, listen, i'm going to rethink my campaign, i'm trying to decide whether i should continue or not continue. and then come back and say, yeah, i'm going to do it. i think you just lose steam there so that even if you are in the race, you are in the race only in name only because i

think it's very hard to recover from rethinking whether you should run. >> it's interesting you point out the irony it is newt gingrich who is really rising in the polls, as cain is falling. he is now saying instead of this coming down to romney and not romney, it's going to be newt and not newt. let's listen to what he told abc. >> it's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high i'm going to be the nominee. >> then he kind of walked it back a little bit. he said the voters are going to decide who the nominee is. >> well, listen, this has always been, newt gingrich has never been criticized for a lack of confidence and he certainly won't be in this. i think it's a little premature. listen, he is riding high in the polls and give him a plus for timing because if this was going to be this kind of race, when you wanted to be the guy that

came to become the not mitt, you want to do it in december, less than a month before those january caucuses and january primaries. his timing is great. the question is whether he has an organization that could actually take advantage of it. two schools of thought right now. one is that he just doesn't have the organization in place and cannot, because of the limited period of time. we have two holidays between now and the january 3rd caucuses. he just doesn't have the time to put an organization in place that can put people in every county in iowa, who are going to be in those caucuses on a freezing night to say, yeah, newt gingrich and here's why. nor does he have the time to do the same in new hampshire. then there's the other school of thought that says different time, folks. it is now an internet world and, you know, you can organize by tweeting and you can organize by blogging and you can use the internet and have friends tell friends tell friends in the way that the obama campaign was very

good at four years ago. but at the moment, i don't see any sign that he's organized on twitter or blogging or facebook. so, you know, it just, i think that we can get too excited about the polling, which certainly is a -- i don't mean to underestimate its threat to mitt romney. but i think we have to wait a little bit and see and, you know, again, confidence, as you know, is part of the name of any game and certainly gingrich has a lot of reason to be confident. but does he have an organization to back it up? can he get one in place? >> and, also, as you know, candy, a lot of people think mitt romney is more electable in a general election. so, you know, we will have to wait and see now. what else are you going to be talking about on sunday? >> is there anything else to talk about? >> who do you have lined up? >> well, actually, i will say that there are a couple other things we do want to talk about. listen, 'tis the season, as you know. we're going to be talking about

the republican primary season as it comes up. is it now down to newt versus mitt? listen, don't underestimate some of these people still out there. i think you heard hillary rosen talk about jon huntman in new hampshire. he may get a second look. don't ndz estimate ron paul and get very passionate people into iowa. suppose he takes iowa, that throws a chink in everybody's plans. interesting things going on overseas. the egyptian elections. what's going on in syria, what's going on in iran, that kind of thing. so, we brought, we're going to bring kind of a twopher guests with our others to oversea things. last time around, republican nominee john mccain. we'll talk to him about both sides of the pond, as they say. >> great, candy. we'll be watching. thanks. herman cain's attorney lynn

wood went at it with piers morgan last night blaming the media for asking questions about the scandal. >> you want me to answer your questions that i don't believe that a candidate or any individual should be forced to answer. >> you are being naive. the idea that a presidential candidate, the idea that a presidential candidate can be paying a woman who claims to have had a 13-year affair, he admits to paying her money to calling her at 5:00 a.m., making repeated texts over a period where he's actually actively running for president. the idea that none of this is remotely relevant is perposturous. all i'm asking you for, i'm not saying he's guilty of anything. i'm just trying to get some facts out of you.

you as his attorney know the answers but don't feel it's relevant to tell the information, it's a little strange. >> thank you, i am sorry if you find me naive or if you find my statements about mr. cain perposturous. what i find naive is the failure on the part of the members of the media to be asking the tough questions of the accuser. >> there you have it. spirited exchange. >> i'll say. strong winds carving out a path of destruction in california, meanwhile, gusts topping 140 miles per hour in some parts. that's hurricane force, by the way. tens of thousands of people without power and trees ripped right from the ground there as you can see and residents describe those terrifying winds. >> sounds like hurricane. very scary and we couldn't sleep. >> i was listening to my little radio and all of us.

>> rob marciano monitoring the winds in the extreme weather center this morning. good morning, rob. >> it was an extraordinary event. a number of ingredients coming together to give l.a. what they saw and really a widespread event beyond that. today, the wind relatively calm but probably pick up in the next couple hours. l.a. and ventura counties under a wind warning through this afternoon and that may be extended through tonight as we get an impulse that strengthen things tonight into tomorrow morning and finally the pattern breaks down come sunday morning. but, meanwhile, look at some of these wind and not just in california, centerville, utah, 1 102-mile-per-hour wind gusts and these typically aren't at high elevations. here's some video out of utah. damage across the area. downtown salt lake city saw a wind gust of 69 miles per hour. again, not just at the mountaintops. but speaking of mountains, we go further west to las vegas and just outside of vegas where snow was coming down at the higher elevations. matter of fact, the las vegas ski resort had about a foot and

a half of the snow. all right, that system begins to move off to the east or at least part of it will bring the snow to the southern rockies and parts of new mexico. 6 to 12 inches potentially and some of that wintry precip will get into the texas panhandle, freezing rain slicing into parts of oklahoma and kansas as this system makes its way off to the east. speaking of the east, we're okay and relatively quiet. temperatures finally rebounding after the chilly start. this system, though, will make its way across towards the western great lakes over the weekend and some rains from dallas up through parts of memphis and eventually through the western great lakes, including chicago as we go through saturday and sunday. your friday afternoon highs today, today 43 degrees in chicago and 64 degrees in atlanta. still, all eyes out west after they had that battering of strong santa ana winds the past couple of days. guys? >> all right, rob, thank you. the leader of al qaeda is claiming responsibility for the august kidnapping of a 70-year-old u.s. citizen in pakistan.

al zu wary could be heard. gunman took winesteen just days before he planned to move back to the united states. al zawahiri on charges of belonging to al qaeda and the taliban and the closing of the u.s. military prison at gu guantanamo bay. hillary clinton wrapping up a visit to myanmar. the nobel peace prize winner plans to run for parliament in the southeast asian nation after she has spent nearly two decades under arrest. she told clinton she supports the immediate return of a u.s. ambassador to myanmar. the secretary told her the time is just not yet quite right. the senate has passed harsh new economic sanctions against iran. cut off iran central bank from the rest of the world's banks, but the white house balking at

this fearing the move could backfire and wind up costing all of us a lot more money at the gas pump. wall street protesters desperately trying to stand their ground in two more cities. anger boiling over. police moved in and barricaded some screaming protesters there as a noon deadline to leave their camp came and went. the city offered to move them to a new site, but many people refused. in oklahoma city, occupiers filed suit to stay in their park. they asked a federal judge to stop the city from imposing an overnight curfew. protesters have been camping out in downtown oklahoma city for almost two months now. but they were recently denied a new permit after there was apparently some kind of a drunken brawl that trashed the camp. the city gave them all until 11:00 p.m. last night to clear out. this morning congress another standoff has just 30 days to work out its differences or you and, oh, 160 million other americans may face a tax hike. >> that's right.

last night the senate failed to pass both the republican and the democratic versions of an extension to the payroll tax holiday that is set to expire at year's end. brianna keilar is live at the white house. it seems both parties want to pass an extension, but they disagree on how to pay for it. this is also proof that temporary tax cuts are very difficult to take back. politically. >> that's right. christine, as you know, republicans were proposing to pay for this by taking a chunk out of the federal payroll, which, of course, pays the salaries of federal employees. democrats wanted to pay for it by increasing taxes on americans who make a million dollars or more. the millionaire surtax, as they call it. why does this matter? it does matter because this is about $1,000 a year for most american families. right now they're getting this tax cut and, so, obviously, that would be $1,000 less for them if they didn't get it and in this economy, of course, $1,000 would help. but the thing is, i have to tell you, the bottom line is the

expectation that ultimately congress will pass this payroll tax cut extension so that americans aren't hit with a tax increase. but, really, there's a lot of uncertain tty and a whole lot o politics that is going to go down before we see that. now, take a look at what president obama said last night in a statement after the senate failed to pass the payroll tax extension. he said tonight senate republicans chose to raise taxes on nearly 160 million hard-working americans because they refused to ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionairs to pay their fair share. that's unacceptable. it makes absolutely no sense. the republicans say this is a surtax that would hit too many small businesses. that it would hurt job creation, but democrats are really taking attack here, christine and arena, where they're saying you have republicans basically coming to the aid of wealthy americans at the expense of the middle class.

this is an argument they have been pushing for some time and they feel it is a winning one and they're going to keep pushing it. >> all right, thanks, briana. >> that fight is going to be -- >> i'm sure they'll come up with a deal at the 11th hour. >> you look when they come up, how much fire and grim stone comes from just a small little, relatively considering the size of our debt, how much pain and suffering to get congress to do anything. also sort of scary how long it will take them to fix our big problems. still to come, chilling newly released audiotapes from the deadly stage collapse last august from the state fair. we'll take you inside the chaos and the confusion. we're watching this very closely. a critical jobs report about to be released this morning. in just about 15 minutes, we'll break it down and what it means for our recovery. and cold, hard cash. is it an appropriate holiday gift? how to ask for it and how to give it without offending anybody. we'll ask our etiquette expert.

i don't have money to give to anybody. 15 minutes after the hour. [ male announcer ] from our nation's networks... ♪ ...to our city streets... ♪ ...to skies around the world... ♪ ...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work, protecting people's lives... [ soldier ] move out! [ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪

[ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... ♪ imagine me and you, i do ♪ i think about you day and night ♪ ♪ it's only right ♪ to think about the girl you love ♪ ♪ and hold her tight ♪ so happy together [ male announcer ] when life changes, so can your insurances needs. use travelers free guide to better coverage to stay prepared. is your auto and home insurance keeping up with you? contact your local travelers agent, or call 800-my-coverage.

all right. welcome back to "american morning." gripping new audiotapes from emergency responders at the scene of that deadly stage collapse in august at the indiana state fair. the tapes were obtained by cnn affiliate wthr in indianapolis. they revealed chaos and confusion in the aftermath of the tragedy. it turns out state police knew a bad storm was coming and concerns about all those fans that were gathering for a sugarland connoissecert that net started. >> all units, all units. severe thunderstorm warning until 9:45 for marion county until 9:45. >> that came five minutes before disaster struck. dispatchers expressing concern for a swelling crowd of shigerland fans. >> have they released fans from

the grand stands yet? >> i have no information on that, i will check and advise. >> reporter: turns out, therant with be enough time. within three minutes of that radio call, all hell broke loose. >> stage just collapsed! control, grandstand ems, the grandstands are gone. >> cnn affiliate wtr contained this post incident report, but the city of indianapolis blacked out its findings because of a possible lawsuit. here is what is clear from the dispatch tapes. in the moments after the stage collapse, there was no clear disaster plan in place. ambulances were challenged getting into the fair grounds and getting out. >> i have 13 and 27 en route. 5, 20, 24, 31 and 61 are on property. they're trying to make their way to the grandstands but are

meeting a great deal of gridlock. >> reporter: one ambulance was loaded with two injured patients, but no one could find the driver. >> they're loaded and ready. >> what we're running into and we have multiple people that are just taking off with the patients. we're having a hard time controlling it. we need to rethink our strategy, it's not working. we need to get the trucks down here in order for us to start working a medical scene to get patients out of here. do what we have to do as state police. >> i'm out of transport units but continuing to scrounge. >> what resources do you have down there? critical on a lot of our patients are going from yellow to red on us. they're going into shock. >> the country duo sugarland has

been named in this lawsuit filed by the survivors and the family members of four of the victims that were killed. the suit alleges breach of reasonable care to the victims and seeks unspecified damages. you know, cnn has reached out to the indiana state police for a comment about all this in these tapes and we expect to hear back from them later this morning. 21 minutes after the hour, here's what it new this morning. take a look at this. 32 tons of pot. it's worth about $65 million on the street and marijuana was discovered when the feds busted a secret underground tunnel that ran from mexico all the way to san diego. the smuggling operation was so sophisticated that the tunnel was equipped with elevators and rail cars. six people were arrested during that raid. 72 hours under water. that's the goal for florida scuba diver. he's attempting to break the world's record for the longest salt water scuba dive. he began his three-day dive yesterday. it's his second attempt at this

record. last time rough waters forced him to bail out early. the current record is 48 hours. they must have someone who goes down and changes his tanks. >> i don't know how he will stay down for three days. we'll be watching that. the first superman comic. sold at auction for more than $2 million. that's a look at it there. the highest comic book sale ever. get this, it costs just 10 cents when it was published way back in 1938. according to hollywood reporter it was nicolas cage who was the seller. cage, by the way, bought it 14 years ago for roughly $150,000. remember new coke and how big a flop that was. don't change what's already perfect, right? these new coca-cola cans are being pulled off the shelves. consumers, they don't like them. they want the old red can back. we'll tell you why. it's 23 minutes after the hour.

it's 26 minutes after the hour. watching your money this morning. the jobs report for november comes out in about five minutes. this is probably the most important economic report in the world because it tells us what the american labor market is doing and economists forecast 110,000 jobs were added to the economy last month and the unemployment rate likely stayed at that stubbornly high 9%. right now, we're on track for a strong opening for stocks. u.s. stock futures are trading significantly higher. the dow up more than 143 points right now. this coming after a mixed day yesterday. there's optimism about that jobs report and also some comments angela merkel, chancellor of germany, we're going to continue to follow all these moves on the market for you this morning. massachusetts attorney general is now suing some of the nation's biggest banks accusing them of unlawful and deceptive conduct in the foreclosure process. citi, wells fargo and jpmorgan

chase. the banks, meanwhile, say they're negotiating a settlement with a number of attorney generals regarding their handling of foreclosures. potential relief of homeowners facing foreclosure. fannie mae and freddie mac will put foreclosures on hold for the holidays. we should know this only applies to mortgages controlled or held by fannie or freddie. a number of banks have also said they will suspend evictions during the holidays. coca-cola is pulling that limited edition white arctic home can that was designed to raise awareness for polar bears. the problem, customers thought the new can looked too much like the diet coke can. so, coke will go back to the red version of that limited edition can. up next, herman cain on the clock. will he still be in the race when the weekend is over? "american morning" back right after this quick break.

to find you a great deal, even if it's not with us. [ ding ] oh, that's helpful! well, our company does that, too. actually, we invented that. it's like a sauna in here. helping you save, even if it's not with us -- now, that's progressive! call or click today. no mas pantalones! so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card.

earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

welcome back to "american morning." it's 31 minutes after the hour. your top stories now. we are standing by for the latest jobs report. economists predict the economy added 110,000 jobs last month based on that estimate, the unemployment rate would stay unchanged at 9%. fierce santa ana wind ripping through southern california. in some areas, the gusts are topping 140 miles per hour. that's hurricane-force winds. tens of thousands of homes without power. l.a. county even declared a state of emergency. it's the strongest wind storm there in nearly a decade. herman cain heading home today to consider his political future. he's meeting with his wife and family in atlanta and says dropping out of the presidential race is now an option. cain admits giving money to his alleged mistress ginger white. he claims they never had sex. earlier on "american

morning" will cain talked about what will happen if cain hangs in there and who will benefit if he leaves. what do you think, is he staying in or getting out of the race? >> that depends on what he's campaigning for. if he's campaigning for president, the logical conclusion, he's probably done. if he's campaigning to raise his own profile, i see no rush. get out. i have been slow to this analysis -- >> why get out? he's running out of money. >> he can keep his name out there somewhere. look, i've been slow to adopt that analysis. the reason i am beginning to think this is not true, he's not running for president. all of these scandals and the sexual harassment claims that he knew about, he's known about them all along. he could have been prepared and yet, he wasn't. he has been winging every single aspect of his campaign. he was never actually very serious about becoming president. something you said before blows my mind.

herman cain support blows newt gingrich. the ultimate washington outsider, herman cain, the reason for his support threatens to flow to the ultimate washington insider. okay, just in, the labor department releasing its november jobs report and some big changes and big numbers to report to you here today. 120,000 jobs were created last month. that is more than what economists were expecting, but the big news here the unemployment rate fell to 8.6%. that's the lowest level since march 2009. i'll show you why, you had some revisions here. now, we know it was about 120 jobs for the month of november, but if you look at october, october had a big revision. 200,000 jobs were created in october and when you look back at september, it was 210,000 jobs created in september. so, when you look at the last three months, you can see, you can see that jobs were more

plentiful than we had thought. so, a couple big revisions. 120,000 jobs created in november and then an unemployment rate of 8.6% now, the lowest since march of 2009. the underemployment rate, these are people who are working part-time but like to be working full-time or working in jobs that aren't sort of up to their ability. 15%. that number is still too high, folks, but it is down a little bit. i want to show you where the jobs were created, as well. the jobs created in the private sector, 140,000 jobs overall. the government laid off 24,000 people. jobs created in retail, 50,000 jobs. half in clothing stores and apparel and accessory stores. education and medical facilities added about 27,000 jobs and leisure and hospitality added some jobs, too. i want to show you something very quickly, this is since the president took office and you know on the campaign trail he is hammered by the republicans who say that things have gotten worse under his watch and that

the things that he's tried to do to fix the economy haven't been working. this is when he took office. you can see after that, oh, wow, the job loss here was just ferocious and very, very difficult. and then you saw some false starts last year of job creation. and then this year, on average, about 125,000, a little more than 125,000 jobs created every single month. slowly adding, not enough to bring down the unemployment rate necessarily, but recalling jobs. so, again, that's what it looks like. you have things better than we thought for the last couple of months. 120,000 jobs and an 8.6% unemployment rate for november. i want to bring in sheila bear, the former chair woman of the fdic and, sheila, even when we talk about these numbers. 8.6% unemployment rate and it's still very difficult and shows you how slow and prodding this recovery has been. >> it has been sluggish, but

this is good news. we have reached a good psychological barrier by getting it below 9%. that is good news. a lot of challenge on the horizon and still very sluggish. still a lot of work ahead, that's for sure. >> very good point to make and part of the thing that is bedevilling right now, the slow and careful gains in the american economy and our recovery and we're watching europe and we're worried about the health of the bankz in europe. how healthy are european banks and what does it mean to us and our economy? >> right, well, the european banks are not very healthy and, of course, they have a huge volume of sovereign debt that is under such duresright now. so, i think that things are starting to come to a climax there. we saw some very important signals from angela merkel yesterday that appears that the ucb is willing to move forward with more aggressive bond purchases if the political leadership in europe will come to agreement on better constraints on budgetary policies for country that have

not acted fiscally responsible and greater movement towards fiscal integration. so, i think there is some movement, although we've seen false starts before. but the most recent procimation. >> angela merkel said last night this is a marathon. when you look at how long, this will take years to fix these problems. and one of the big complaints there and here about debt issues is a real deficit in leadership. we've seen the central banks moving in. you know, the world's central banks moving in, but do we have the leadership on both sides of the pond to fix this long term, run a marathon? >> we have to have political leadership to fix it long term. they can print money and buy this debt and prop up the prices over a period of time and keep liquidity in the banking system. but that's not the long-term fix

and longer term that will likely have inflationary impact. so, the fiscal situation needs to be dealt with and the politicians, both in europe and the united states, they really need to make some tough decisions and move ahead. i agree with her, it will take a period of years for europe to right its ship, but i think if people know what the game plan is and know there is a process and they're following through, i think that will do a lot to settle the markets. >> a lot of squabbling of what that game plan is, 17 other players -- >> their bureaucracy is a real problem, too. too many fingers in the pot. >> you're the expert on bank, banking and keeping our deposits safe and keeping our banking system safe. you know more about this than anyone. how healthy are the american banks right now and the american banking system? they're different than the european banks. >> they are. they're definitely healthier than the european banks. we always kept much stronger capital standards here in the united states and i think a lot of that was due to the fdic. we also through our stress

testing in early 2009 required them to raise a lot of additional capital as part of the t.a.r.p. payments we say they raise additional capital. they're not in the best of shape, but they're stable right now. improving indicators in the economy, as we just discussed. i think housing is still a real issue. a lot of unrealized losses yet to be realized there. but over time i think they can withstand it. but we need to move on with it. >> this foreclosure moratorium for the holidays, i worry that it's respite for now, but that you just have a lot of housing problems and foreclosing problems. it's a big pause button on problems that haven't been solved. >> the servicing of these mortgages. having people on the ground dealing with these troubled loans in an effective way and the large banks, which are the major servicers have not done a good job on that score and that still hasn't been fixed.

>> thanks for your impact. 8.6% for the unemployment rate. it's under 9%. you point out, a psychologically good place to be right now. nice to see you this morning. have a good weekend. apple's new iphone will help you find just about anything. the virtual assistant app siri will look up phone numbers and addresses and one thing it won't find, abortion clinics. is siri pro-life or just an accident? we'll have that story coming up. 41 minutes after the hour.

welcome back, it's 43 minutes after the hour. this story is so incredible. you know apple's new iphone is apparently being called prolife. >> here's why. the iphone 4s virtual assistant siri helps you find phone numbers and addresses and some users say it won't find abortion clinics. i was wondering, is that -- whatever. cnn's mary snow has the story. >> reporter: where can i find a supermarket? one of the hottest functions of the new iphones.

>> i found a number of supermarkets. >> reporter: siri the virtual assistant. ask it just about anything and it finds an answer, if it can't, it leads you to a search engine. apple is having to respond to its new voice activated assistant. those questions were raised by bloggers asking why siri could find everything from strip clubs to viagra but apparently draws a blank when asked about abortion or conception. we're standing outside a parenthood clinic in new york. where can i find an abortion clinic. this is the latest iphone with the siri app. >> sorry, i couldn't find any abortion clinics. >> reporter: comes with antiabortion center in virginia. it directs users to several clinics where abortions are performed. the aclu and abortion rights advocates raise concern but apple is blaming it on a technical glitch saying these are not intentional omissions

meant to offend anyone. it simply means that as we bring siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better and we will in the coming weeks. not everyone is buying it. eli is the former executive director of moveon.org and the author of filter bubble. >> i think the fact is for a long time media companies have, you know, made it more difficult for women to, you know, find family planning assistance. this is not the first time this has happened. >> reporter: one analyst who covers apple says he doesn't believe there's a hidden agenda, since apple doesn't use its own database, but rather relies on information gathered from partners. but he says, the company's culture of silence will only likely add to suspicions. >> you see lots and lots of pretty wild theories and speculations about new products and services and, you know,

hidden agendas and all those kind of things with apple more than you do with other companies because they tend to constrain the amount of information that they make available to the marketplace. >> meantime, the abortion rights group posted an e-mail it received from apple's ceo after writing him. the group says, it appreciates the prompt response and that it will continue to monitor siri until apple's efforts to work out the kinks are finished. mary snow, cnn, new york. >> all right. ahead on "american morning," what's an inappropriate gift for your child's teacher. i have been asking this question and i can't wait to hear the answer. >> i want to know, how much do you tip your doorman? something for everyone here. we'll get your answers to these the granddaughter of emily post. it's 47 minutes after the hour. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world...

the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. [ woman on r♪ bum-bum,stinct ] bum-bum, bum-bum ♪ ♪ bum-bum

- ♪ ai, ai, ai - ♪ bum-bum - ♪ bum-bum, bum-bum - ♪ [ ice rattles rhythmically ] ♪ bum-bum, bum-bum, bum-bum ♪ ♪ [ imitates guitar noise ] ♪ [ vocalizing up-tempo heavy metal song ] ♪ [ vocalizing continues ] ♪ [ all singing ] the redesigned, 8-passenger pilot. smarter thinking. from honda. 48 minutes after the hour on a friday, here are your morning headlines. markets open in just 45 minutes and right now stock futures are trading significantly higher after this morning's job report showed that the economy added 120,000 jobs last month. the unemployment rate also dropping to 8.6%. the senate has blocked both the democratic and republican plans on extending the payroll tax cut that expires at the end of the year.

the parties remain divided over, you guessed it, how to pay for it. the leader of al qaeda is claiming responsibility for the august kidnapping of a 70-year-old u.s. citizen in pakistan. al zow hery can be heard on a number of tapes. just days before he planned to move back to the united states. we are watching very closely herman cain. the gop candidate heading home today to speak to his wife. their first-fac face-to-face meg since accused of having a 13-year affair. he will make a decision on his campaign by monday. that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" is back after this.

welcome back. 51 minutes after the hour. 'tis the season for giving. we need to start thinking about that. but given the uncertain economic times you might not be able to do as much or spend as much as in the past. how exactly do you handle that? >> you may want to use them as cover for people you don't like. i can't do it this year. for that and other holiday et q icate. and she's the great, great-granddaughter of emily post and she joins us, once again. nice to see you. >> thank you. >> how do you tactfully

downgrade expectations for gift giving this year for sure? >> the earlier the better. if you have to change plans whether it's visiting friend and relatives or giving gifts, as early as possible to change that expectations. the 11th hour, they probably already bought the gift and that would be very awkward. >> one question that i had, i was talking to my producer about this yesterday when we found out you were coming on and we were saying, if you got somebody a gift last year, you're making your list this year and you're really looking, you are counting your pennies. can you cross that person's name off the list this year or do you get them a lesser gift or what do you do? >> you can always adjust your budget and choice of gift always up to you. if you're changing a long-standing gift exchange with someone, i would let them know so they don't show up ready to go. but, yes, we all do have to make changes and whatever is in the bank account, that's what we have to work with. that part is not going to change. >> 100 reasons i don't like gift cards. one of them, 25% of people don't

ever use them and then people who do use them, they have to go over to use it all, so, you're asking them to pay money. >> i feel differently. i give gift cards to some people because i feel like maybe i don't know them well enough. >> know your audience. >> maybe it's good to let them choose. >> the problem is this year if you gave somebody one last year and it was $50 and this year you can only afford $25. they know you're not giving as much. >> that's maybe when you wrap a box of cookies with it or something like that to soften the blow. but, here, never regift a gift card because -- >> really? >> it wasn't properly activated and you used part of it, $17.21 you will be outed very quickly. >> wow. never regift a gift card. what do you give a teacher? my most important question of the year. >> always check school policy first, never cash gifts. teachers asked me, please, no more mugs. get your child involved whatever it is. whether it is something you are baking or making for the teacher

or picking out for them. maybe books for the classroom. have your kid give some input on that, too. great way to involve them. >> what about, obviously, in new york city, in particular, tipping is a big deal. your doorman if you live in manhattan or in these parts and the dog walker, the mail carrier, you know, when you tip them is a percentage or dollar amount? how do you figure out who to tip and how much? >> doorman and i know this is a big deal in new york. minimum threshold of $50 a person here and this is new york, that could go up very, very fast. if you work with one doorman particularly, sure, the bulk goes to him and the rest smaller. dogwalkers, babysitters, people like this. the value of one service. one week worth of dog walking, if you can't make it, a little bit less, they'll appreciate it. >> we heard people say, we don't want your cookies, we want your cash. >> they like the money. >> thank you so much, nice to

see you. >> you can give me a gift card, if you want to. it's 55 minutes after the hour. we're back after this. hi, as founder of maddie's corner i am committed to celebrating the bond between people and their pets. now, i'm absolutely thrilled to help introduce this year's top ten cnn heroes. >> in mexico, people with disabilities who can't get around have no options. their world is the four walls of their house when someone has a disability, the whole family has to pitch in to help them. if they don't have the money, the care that they provide for them is the very basic care. my name is richard st. denis. i take wheelchairs to people in mexico who can't afford them but

really need them. in 1976 i broke my back skiing and severed my spinal cord. i see what happened to me as an opportunity to help other people with disabilities. we collect used wheelchairs from the united states race cardinal and hot rod. >> we teach them how to use it. >> mobility means being independent and more active. someone said, richard, i want to thank you for giving up your legs so we could have a better quality of life. when i see them happy and seeing their self-confidence. i know people's lives are getting better. ♪

it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year.